6 things startups want from the Government's Startup policy Fostering entrepreneurial spirit through launch of 'Startup India' initiative.
By Samiksha Jain •
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Startup India' initiative has become the hottest buzz word among all Indian startups and entrepreneurs. Though startup policies are helpful for youth to bring in new ideas leading to innovation and economic growth of the country, still they expect a lot more comprehensive approach from the government through their latest initiative.
Entrepreneur India interacted with startups founders to know more about their expectation from the Government's Startup policy. Here is what they expect from the Government's initiative:
1. Building Startup/Tech Hub
Startup expects government to create 3-4 startup hubs in Indian region where there is free flow of capital and talent from across the world. "We expect government to create a startup or tech centre where there is free flow of capital and talent with easy visas and no taxes. International talent (high tech and marketing talent) should find it easy to do work in India in these centres and repatriate earnings without taxes," said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS Global Services and Chairman, NASSCOM BPM Council.
2. Ease of Regulatory Compliance:
Startups are hesitant to engage with the government as they expect there to be more bureaucracy than support. "With launch of Startup India policy, we expect positive steps from the Government to address certain impediments like taxes, regulatory framework and issues with capital, which in-return will carve out some of the biggest success stories in the Indian startup ecosystem," said Swati Bhargava, Co-founder, CashKaro.com
3. Initiatives for access to seed funding:
India has enough entrepreneurship zeal but lacks funding opportunities. "We expect Government to act as a facilitator for the upcoming startups by giving an access to seed funding and also develop incubation centres for new ideas," said Bhargava.
4. Availability of Infrastructure
Infrastructure or the accommodations are the major problem faced by the startups while setting up their office in any state. When asked to Murugesh about the same, he said, "In order to encourage startups, State Government should provide well equipped warehouses as well as free world class office accommodation inside SEZs. They can charge rentals later and must focus more on quality projects as opposed to rental income." World class residential accommodation, schools and hospitals should be made available inside SEZs by state governments, and encourage best talent to relocate atb these locations and work with these startups.
5. Enable to attract big VC funds:
Startups are expecting big VC to enter into the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem which will enable them to fetch funds from VCs. "Fund raising is an important aspect which I feel will be addressed by this campaign and make it easier for startups to pitch their ideas to big VCs," Samar singla, CEO and Founder, Jugnoo.
6. Startups Smooth Approach Towards Government:
Government is considered as the biggest buyer of goods and services and the biggest employer of people. But for startups, targeting Government as their market is a tough task. "If PM Modi can make the Government a feasible target market for startups, my expectations would not only be met, they would be exceeded. Virtually no startup I am aware of targets the government, and yet the government is the biggest buyer of goods and services," Swati Gupta, CEO and Founder, Industrybuying.
Hope this initiative exercised by the Government paves the way for startups to create multiple future global giants from India.
